Cedar chips for July 25

So let's say you live in a condo complex with a small parking garage underneath. In this garage, there's a big, metal garage door. It's creaky, it's got to be 100 years old and it's seriously slow and noisy.

You don't drive much, but it's a pain in the ass when you've got to use it. Still, it's getting to be time to replace the darn thing.

The question is this — you really don't have much use for the garage, but you've got some jackass neighbors who are constantly putting that thing up and down, up and down.

Do you teach them to not drive by disagreeing to fund it and offering to buy them a bus pass, instead?

Or do you bite the bullet and replace the garage door before the price goes up, up, up?

If you're Metro Councilor Robert Liberty, you sit in front of that garage door and force everyone to adhere to your way of life.

Liberty, who really aught to consider changing his last name to something more fitting, and his anti-bridge buddies want to have their cake and eat it too.

"Don't build the bridge!" they say. "It'll encourage people in that evil suburb of Vancouver to drive more!"

"Don't build the bridge!" they bleat. "It's a waste of money with gas prices going up because people will be driving less!"

"Build the damn bridge!" most Portlanders cry. "It takes too damn long to get anywhere these days!"

And so it has gone for the last decade or so, and so it will probably continue when Metro does its lands use analysis and finds that yes, there are still people in this country who want to have a back and front yard in a single family home.

And in Portland, those people move to Vancouver.  (Trib)


• 18,000-seat amphitheater broke, only drew 11,000 fans to largest concert last year. We're pretty sure the rest of them are still waiting to cross the I-5 bridge. (Columbian)
• One good way to keep you from forgetting your reusable grocery bag — charge you 20 cents when you don't bring them. (Big O) (Trib)
• Portland is now the second most liberal city on Earth. Thanks, Berlin! (WW)
• Developers lose Measure 49, turn thirsty lust for open space to make into mindless suburbia (why not Vancouver?) towards hapless golf course residents in the ag county. (Argus)
• Local Superfund magnate suggests we should drive 55 mph to keep the Earth healthy. (Pamplin) Arch-Republican ag county paper disagrees. (Argus)
• Vietnam Navy vets continue to overachieve. One's running for president, and one's kicking some major ignorant BiMart ass. (Times)
• Navel examiners at Oregonian suggest requiring calorie counts on food. (Big O) On that note, I'm off to drink beer, and don't tell me how many calories I'm consuming.